Dancing with Wolves
by Laume
Summary: Written as a present to Rosaleen. Yet another kidfic. An attempt to reconcile Remus and Severus goes awry, and leaves Dumbledore and Harry with two small charges.
1. Chapter 1

"Curses

"Curses!" Severus Snape kicked the sturdy wooden door, "wait until I get my hands on the idiot responsible for this…"

He had received a note from Filch who had been cleaning up the castle now that the students were home and ran into trouble. When he arrived at the unused classroom, the door had slammed shut behind him and wouldn't open again.

"Don't bother," the voice made him spin around, "it won't open again."

He stared into the faces of Harry Potter and Remus Lupin.

Lupin sighed. "The Headmaster apparently had the brilliant idea that if he locked us in together, we would somehow 'make peace' as he put it. Since I retrieved Harry from the Dursleys, he included the boy in his scheme."

Harry, half hidden behind Lupin, frowned. "Professor? We had no idea what was going to happen either."

All Snape did was stare at them in terror as he watched the sun set from the window.

"I don't think he's hearing us, Moony," Harry whispered suddenly.

"I believe you are right," Lupin bit his lip, "Severus? Severus, please, look at me."

He took a step in Snape's direction, which only resulted in Snape curling up on the floor and whimpering, trying to protect his head.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked.

"It appears to be some sort of flashback," Lupin stood back, "Probably when he faced my wolf form in the Shrieking Shack. Let's back off and give him some time, Harry, maybe he'll snap out of it."

But Snape did not snap out of it. In fact, over the next half hour he withdrew so completely that Lupin could no longer even move without setting off a flashback, and Harry hovered between the two.

"Albus!" Lupin finally shouted, "You had better get down here and see what you've done, or I swear I'll break your nose, old man or no!"

A few minutes later, the door opened and an agitated Dumbledore entered. Taking one look at the distraught man, he crouched near Snape and reached out to stroke his hair. The Potions Master curled in on himself, shaking so badly that Dumbledore finally put a sleeping spell on him.

"You IDIOT!" Lupin snarled, "didn't it ever occur to you that Severus has a REASON to dislike me? That maybe he fears me? Do you know what facing a werewolf does to a person?"

Harry looked up in surprise. Lupin rolled his eyes. "To get bitten by a werewolf you obviously have to face one, Harry. I was in therapy until I started Hogwarts. Did you send Severus to a mind healer, Albus?"

"No," Dumbledore admitted painfully, levitating the limp body, "but please, Remus – let's continue this discussion in my office after I've put Severus to bed."

sssssssss

Harry and Remus sat in the comfy chairs before the desk when Dumbledore entered again, having tucked the Potions Master into bed. The twinkle was completely gone from his eyes.

"I owe you two an apology as well," he started, "I thought it would be a good idea. I never thought Severus would react this strongly…"

"That's just it, isn't it?" Lupin was obviously still angry, "you never think. You never considered his feelings, or ours. You simply got a crazy idea and went ahead with it, consequences be damned. Now what are we going to do? Shall I leave the castle?"

Dumbledore bowed his head. "It wouldn't do much good if you did, Remus. Severus has retreated so far behind his Occlumency shields that there is no retrieving him in his present state."

"What?" Harry gaped, "but…there is something you can do, isn't there?"

The Headmaster eyed the boy kindly. "There is only one known cure for this, Harry. It is rather extreme – but at the same time it might also accomplish what I intended in the first place…"

Lupin paled. "Are you talking about de-aging, Albus?"

"Yes," the old wizard confirmed, "for a short period of time, say, the holidays. If shown enough care during this period, it may have healed the brain by the time he is re-aged. It also may teach him to trust us – he will be de-aged to about two years old, a time when he had not encountered any of us yet."

The werewolf frowned. "I am still angry with you for making this necessary to begin with, Albus, but it does not seem we have much choice. I do have one suggestion, though."

"What, my boy?"

"De-age me too," Remus requested, shocking Harry, "so I can build an equal relationship with him."

"That….that may actually be a very good idea," Dumbledore mused.

"Make me about four years old. Perhaps if he gets to know me as a big brother, he will have an easier time accepting me when we are re-aged. My only concern is the wolf."

"How old were you when you were bitten?" Dumbledore asked.

"Six," the werewolf slumped a little in his chair.

"Then you should not be experiencing transformations when you are four. If you would remain a child long enough to grow up to six again, you would turn back into a werewolf, but at this age you would not, not yet. That means you could also use the time as a child to heal physically," Dumbledore was nearly beaming now, "this is a glorious idea!"

"It wouldn't be necessary if it hadn't been for your stupidity," Remus snarled, "lets not forget that. The end doesn't justify the means."

"Of course, my boy," Dumbledore did his best to appear contrite, but failed spectacularly since he was still beaming too much. "Harry will help me take care of the pair of you, won't you Harry?"

"Me?" Harry said shyly, "I don't know anything about small children."

"Don't worry, my boy, you'll learn," Dumbledore assured him.

"Fine," the pair agreed, "this may be the best way out of the mess you have created."

Harry turned to Remus. "I was looking forward to a summer with you," he said ruefully, "but not in this way."

The werewolf hugged the boy tightly. "I'm sorry, Harry. I know you needed a friend and a mentor. I wish this had never happened, but now that it did…"

"We have to make the best of it," Harry finished, hugging back, "I know. And we are still going to have fun, Remus," he teased.

"Good boy," Lupin grinned.

Dumbledore finally managed to look regretful as he realized what his plans had cost Harry. The boy did need a father-figure and his decisions had robbed him of that chance once again. Determined to make up for it, he took two potions from his cupboard and measured out about half a glass.

"This will make Severus into a child that just turned two. Once I've got him settled, you take the potion – probably this evening when he is in bed. Perhaps you should…"

"Yes," Remus stood up, "it's best if he does not see me right away. Come Harry – we'll have dinner together and erm…pick up some outfits for me and Severus to wear…" he blushed.

"Good, good," Dumbledore took the glass, "I will see you this evening, then."

ssssssssss

In the end, he didn't feed the potion to Severus right away. First he expanded his guest room and turned it into a nursery for two children. A cot for Severus and a child's bed for Remus. Toys would have to be bought, but he did transfigure some wooden blocks for the fireplace into a wooden train.

Then he gently sat down on the bed and carefully lifted Severus in one arm. He slowly fed him the potion, pleased that Severus did drink on his own.

After the glass was drained, he pulled the man close.

"I am sorry, Severus," he whispered, "I will make it up to you, I promise. You'll be a very happy little boy."

A light surrounded the boy in his arms and soon he held a small child, barely a toddler, either approaching his second birthday or no more than a few weeks past it. The child looked up, distraught at the unfamiliar surroundings. The bottom lip trembled.

"Shhhh, my little one, it's alright," Dumbledore soothed, rocking the child, "oh dear, this is all very confusing, isn't it?"

The baby cried and whimpered in his arms, struggling to escape. Finally, Dumbledore set him on the floor.

"I'm Albus, little one. What is your name?"

"Abuh?" the little boy asked warily.

"Yes, Albus, child. Very well done! What is your name?"

"Sevvuh," the boy obviously had some trouble speaking. It also appeared he wasn't used to being asked questions and told he did well.

"Come to the livingroom with me, sweetheart, and we will get you something to eat," the child was quite thin and the mention of food brought an interested gleam to the dark eyes.

Taking Dumbledore's hand, the baby walked with him to the table, where Dumbledore transfigured one of the chairs into a high chair and strapped him in. Lunch appeared – soft chicken noodles and fresh fruits. Severus turned out to be particularly fond of pears, and Dumbledore ended up cutting almost an entire pear into small pieces for him.

"It is just the two of us for now, little one," he told the child, "tonight, your big brother and Harry will be here, too. You can meet them in the morning. Won't that be nice?"

The child listened to him, but showed little interest in names he was not familiar with. After the late lunch, Dumbledore took out a small children's book.

"Would you like me to read to you, Severus?"

The boy's face brightened. "Book," he said.

"Yes, a book. First lets get you cleaned up and changed, shall we?"

Moments later, fitted with a diaper and some shrunken robes, the child was sitting in Dumbledore's lap. It wasn't so much reading the story as it was pointing at the pictures and naming objects. Severus was delighted whenever he heard a new word and kept up this nice new game for a long time.

"Broom," Dumbledore said, "House Elf. Wand. Snitch."

"Nit?"

"Yes, Snitch," Dumbledore praised, "well done. Do you know this one?"

The child eyed the picture, his head cocked.

"That is a garden gnome, dear. Let's move on to the animals, shall we?"

By the end of the afternoon, Dumbledore had read a small pile of children's books and Severus was convinced that this strange man with the long soft hair was someone he definitely could learn to like.

After a quick dinner, he was washed up and tucked in bed in new pyjamas that Harry and Remus had apparently bought and sent up.

"Goodnight, sweet boy. When you woke up in the morning, your brother and Harry will be here," Dumbledore promised, kissing the child, who turned onto his stomach and tucked his thumb into his mouth.

Softly closing the door, Dumbledore went back into his living room to await the arrival of Remus and the second de-aging of that day.


	2. Chapter 2

"Curses

"So, how did things go with Severus, Headmaster?" Remus Lupin shifted in his chair a little nervously.

"It went quite well, I think," Dumbledore smiled, "I tried to prepare him for your arrival, but he didn't seem interested yet. We will have to see what happens tomorrow morning."

Harry turned to the werewolf. "Are you sure, Remus?"

"No," the man admitted honestly, "but this is likely my only chance. Severus is terrified of me. I don't want that. I never wanted that."

He took the glass of potion on the table. "This is it, then," he sighed, and downed the potion in one go.

A light surrounded him, too, and within seconds a small, brownhaired boy sat where the adult had been. Harry watched in amazement.

"So he's four?" he studied the child.

"Four'n HALF," the child corrected, indignant.

"Alright, four and a half," Harry grinned, "Hi, Remus. I'm Harry."

"Hi Harry," the boy responded before looking around, "why am I here?"

"Your Mum and Dad had to go to a conference, child," Albus began their prearranged story – Remus had written him a note with advice on what best to tell the child, "you are staying here for the summer until they are back. At Hogwarts," he added, realizing the child would not yet connect his office with the old castle.

"Hogwarts?" Remus bounced excitedly, "I get to go to Hogwarts when I'm big," he told them solemnly.

"Yes. Yes you do," the Headmaster smiled kindly, "Mum and Dad told us to give you lots of cuddles from them and to have a good time. But now, young man, it is time for bed."

"Where do I sleep?" the boy trustingly put his hand in Harry's as they followed the old wizard to the nursery.

"Here in this room," Dumbledore whispered, "but you have to be a little quiet."

Inside, Remus noticed the small bed as well as the cot. He also noticed the cot was already occupied.

"What that?" he asked.

"This is your companion for the summer," Albus told him, "he can be your sort-of brother. Would you like to be a big brother?"

Remus inspected the sleeping child. "He's really small," he said with a wrinkle over his nose, which they recognized from the adult Lupin – it meant that he was thinking deeply about something.

"What is his name?"

"Severus," Dumbledore patted the boy on his head as Harry peered into the cot curiously. He saw a small form, a round face and a tiny thumb still in the mouth.

"How many years is he?" Remus asked.

"Next week he will be two," Albus answered happily, "and we will have a party for him."

"Wif cake?" the boy's eyes shone.

"Certainly. How are we to have a party without cake? We shall ask the house elves to make us something delicious."

Remus bounced to his bed where Harry sat down with a book to read him a story. De-aging was quite tiring, and fifteen minutes later both children slept soundly.

sssssssss

"I thought he would be just two?" Harry informed later.

"Well, yes, but we cannot be entirely certain, so I decided that he will have his second birthday party next week. It will be fun and give us an opportunity to spoil him," Albus seemed even more eager than little Remus had been.

"Sir? What will happen if he is called?"

Dumbledore stared at Harry.

"By Voldemort, I mean. What if he calls the Professor and he can't respond? Voldemort won't be pleased."

Dumbledore frowned. "Oh dear. We will just have to leak what happened, then. Severus got traumatized and needed to be de-aged as a cure…I'm certain even Tom will understand there is no point in calling for a two-year old."

Harry bit his lip. "Pardon me, Sir, but I think that may be a mistake. Even if it worked and Voldemort wasn't suspicious, you would still give the Death Eaters access to something very private. Do you honestly think they would not use any weakness they discover against Professor Snape? Furthermore, how can you care for him and then when he is grown up again send him right back? How would that do anything to help him? It would only confirm that no one gives a damn about him."

"Language, Harry," Dumbledore admonished, but obviously his heart wasn't in it.

"It does seem like I have lost us our spy with this," he mused regretfully, "unless we can come up with another reason for his absence…"

"SIR!" Harry called out in shock, "do you not care about Professor Snape? Do you feel nothing for that boy sleeping in there?"

The Headmaster pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course I do, Harry. It is just that we need a spy so badly…"

"Then teach me Occlumency and Legilimency," Harry insisted, "so I can spy on Voldemorts mind. We are still connected, and if you teach me how to control that link like he did, then we don't need a spy."

"There's more to spying than just Voldemort, Harry, and would you really want to stoop to his level? Use his methods?"

"And yet, you see little wrong with sending a child into the fray and deliberately endangering your best spy," Harry retorted, "so don't give me that being noble crap. It's not working on me anymore."

"No," the Headmaster studied him, "not since…"

"Not since Sirius died," Harry stated, "but that is not your problem. Your problem is regaining the trust of that boy in there, so that at the end of summer, he can return to the mind that your actions have driven him out of."

He studied the shocked face of the old wizard with grim satisfaction. "It seems Remus and I both grew a backbone the past few months."

ssssssss

Remus woke up the next morning, wondering where he was. His lip trembled as he realized Mummy and Daddy wouldn't be there for a long time, but soon he remembered the boy in the other bed. He climbed out and approached the cot, looking through the bars.

The other child was still on his stomach, his legs tucked under his belly and his arms alongside his body. The boy stirred a little and opened black eyes.

"Hi," Remus said brightly, but reeled back in shock when the child started to wail at the top of his lungs.

Dumbledore, still half asleep, rushed into the fray.

"Oh dear, such a noise this early in the morning," he smiled as he lifted the baby from the cot, "shhh, now, it's alright, Severus, shhhh," he rocked the boy and smiled at Remus, who had recovered from his fright and came closer to better examine the other boy.

"He cries," he observed.

"Yes, I think he got a bit of a scare," the Headmaster replied, "isn't that right, little one?"

Severus had stopped his wailing and hid his face in Dumbledore's sleepshirt.

"Look, Severus. I told you that you would meet your new big brother today," Dumbledore cuddled the boy, "this is Remus. Remus, this is Severus."

"Hi Sev'rus," Remus looked around and spotted a small stuffed cat with a very soft fur coat.

"Here," he held it out to Severus. The last whimpers died as Severus looked to see what was offered to him. Hesitatingly, he reached out, looking up at Dumbledore for permission, who nodded brightly.

"Ca'," he said softly as he pulled it to his chest and rubbed his cheek against the soft fur.

"Yes, a caTttt," Remus spluttered in his attempt to tend to Severus's lack of t in that particular word.

"Cat?" Severus tried again, looking at Remus for confirmation.

"Yay, you got it!" Remus clapped. "Can you say 'Remus'?"

Severus got a little frown. "Eems?"

"Well, almost," the four year old allowed, "REEE-Mus, hear?"

"Weeeee-mus," Severus laughed a little. This game was fun, it was just like the game they had played the day before with the pictures in the book!

"Yay!! You got it!" Remus clapped again, making Dumbledore suspect that his parents used the expression and clapping to encourage their small son.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, what do you boys say to a bit of breakfast?" he suggested.

"No yucky porridge," Remus set his conditions, and Dumbledore was pleased to inform him he would be getting toast and jam.

"Let's go," the Headmaster settled Severus on his hip and took Remus' hand, "I bet Harry is already there."

Remus looked up. "What is your name?" he asked.

"You can call me Uncle Albus, or Granpa if you want," Dumbledore replied.

"Gam-pa," Severus tried the new sound, and Remus beamed up at him.

"Granpa, then," he chose.

sssssssss

Harry smiled brightly at the two boys. "Hello Remus, goodmorning Severus," he poured them both a cup of milk, "what would you like to eat?"

"Toast and jam, Granpa said we could!" Remus responded immediately.

"Certainly," Harry nodded. He pointed his wand at a chair and the legs became longer, pushing the seat up to a convenient height for Remus. It was wonderful being able to do magic in summer, he thought.

Albus strapped Severus in his high chair as Harry busied himself with settling Remus and giving the boy his breakfast.

"What would you like, Severus?" he asked.

Severus pointed at the eggs, and Albus put a scoop of eggs and a piece of buttered toast on his plate.

Harry, who had to make up for three weeks starvation at the Dursleys, dove into the eggs as well, with a modest amount of bacon. Dumbledore buttered a muffin and added a liberal amount of jam.

"Done!" Remus announced proudly a little while later, showing off his empty plate.

"Very good, Moony," Harry praised, "only your milk left and then you can leave the table."

Severus was picking at his eggs with his fingers, putting pieces into his mouth, taking them out again and plucking his bread.

"Do you need help, Severus?" Harry asked.

The boy nodded shyly, and Harry put some eggs on the toast, cut it up in small pieces and offered Severus one of them. The boy happily munched and swallowed.

"You are a natural, Harry," Dumbledore praised.

Harry shrugged. "That's what Aunt Petunia did for Dudley – come to think of it, she might STILL do it for Dudley."

"And you?" Remus asked.

"No, kiddo. My aunt isn't very nice. I couldn't have any eggs. If I was really, really, REALLY good I sometimes got a piece of dry toast."

"That's not FAIR!" Remus exclaimed, using the universal complaint of all toddlers.

"Nope, it isn't," Harry said, continuing to feed Severus, "that's why you and Severus both get yummy food and nice toys. Not the _same_ food and toys, cuz you like different things, but you _both_ get them."

"But fair is the same!" Remus tried to wrap his four-year old brain around it.

"No it isn't," Harry disagreed. "You don't like porridge, do you?"

Remus scrunched up his face and shook his head. "It's yucky."

"I like porridge a lot. So, if we both had to eat porridge every single day, we would get exactly the same. But I would be happy and you would have to eat yucky food. Would that be fair?"

Enlightenment dawned. "No, because I don't like porridge."

"Exactly. And if I said, 'Remus and Severus both have to climb all the way up to the big slide in the park' would that be fair?"

Remus caught on well now. "No, because he is only small!"

"Good boy, you got it!" Harry ruffled the brown hair, "let's get the jam off of you and put you in your clothes, so you can play."

Dumbledore freed Severus from his chair after helping the boy drink his milk and followed into the bathroom. He quickly changed the boy's nappy and dressed him in day clothes too.

"Book, Gampa?" Severus nearly whispered.

"I'll read you a book," Dumbledore promised, feeling guilty as he looked into the innocent face. Harry's words had struck home. "My little reader," he rubbed his nose over the child's belly, eliciting Severus's first tiny giggles.


	3. Chapter 3

"Curses

Remus had played with the train for a while as Dumbledore read Severus a book. The little boy occasionally looked up at the old wizard, his expression both delighted and wary at the same time. After a while, he got up and set Severus to his feet.

"It is a lovely morning," he announced, "we are going outside to see what Hagrid and Harry have made for us to play on."

Harry had left right after breakfast to help the half giant create a playground. Since Hagrid was well-meaning but had no idea what was safe for two toddlers, Harry decided to help and keep an eye on the proceedings at the same time.

The Headmaster took Remus's hand and offered a pinky to Severus, who insisted on walking down to the grounds by himself. Figuring he could carry the child if it proved to be too far, Dumbledore let him. They slowly made their way through the school, Severus toddling besides him and Remus chattering excitedly about everything they saw on their way, from paintings calling out greetings to the ghosts floating at a respectful distance so as to not scare the children.

"Sevvuh step, Gampa," the tiny Potions Master insisted every ten yards or so, as if assuring Dumbledore of the futility of trying to carry him.

"Look Severus, a cow! And a knight!" Remus pointed to a large painting, and Dumbledore obediently stood still and lifted both children so they could examine the painting more closely.

Finally, after about an eternity and a half, they reached the grounds and headed towards the caretaker's hut. Severus took one look at the giant man and cried out, hugging Dumbledore's legs and stamping his feet. "Up, up, up," he called out frantically, trying to literally climb the Headmaster's robes.

Albus quickly took him on his arm. "No need to be so frightened, Severus, it's just Hagrid. He's a very nice man."

Of course, the very nice man was also big enough to squash the two year old if he had accidentally stepped on him, so it was hardly surprising Severus panicked. Remus, while in awe, seemed a lot less fearful, and Harry lifted him to say hi to the Care of Magical Creatures professor.

"Hi, Remus," Hagrid smiled at the small boy, "'ave you come to play? 'Arry 'n I made something nice for ye two," he directed his remark at Severus as well, hoping to entice the toddler into play. Bighearted as he was, he could not stand to see the little boy so terrified of him.

"Why don't we go see?" Harry put Remus on his shoulders, "We've made a great playground for you! You get to test out everything."

"YAY!!" Remus smacked the top of Harry's head in childish joy, making the young man beneath him wince and grin at the same time.

Severus, seeing that Remus apparently was not afraid of the huge man, allowed Dumbledore to carry him to the playground, though he remained wary of Hagrid.

"Oh my," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he took in the area, "this is wonderful!"

The playground was every child's dream. It was fenced, and inside stood a slide, a swing, and several large structures that the children could climb through, up, in, and everything they would like to do with it. There was a large area of sand, and to the side was a small enclosure with a few rabbits. Kneazle kittens and their mother, charges of Hagrid for the time being, had found a sunny spot and were lazily stretching and purring.

There were two halves of a large boat in the sandy area, giving the impression that the boat had broken in two and sunk. The children could climb up and pretend to steer at the steering wheel. Remus would be able to climb to the mast, but the steps leading there began too high for Severus to undertake the effort, as Harry had deemed it too dangerous for him.

"We need you to put some charms on the lot," Harry said, "cushioning charms, charms to prevent them from falling and all that."

He lifted Remus down from his shoulders as Dumbledore quickly cast the spells. The little boy ran to the small gate in the fence.

"Come on, Severus, let's go play pirates!" he called to the other boy.

Severus was taking everything in with wide eyes and a finger in his mouth.

"Do you like it, little one?" Dumbledore kissed the soft cheek, "would you like to play, too?"

He worried about the child. Where Remus was regularly talking about his parents, and asked about Mummy and Daddy on several occasions, Severus made no indication that he even knew he had parents, let alone ask for them. He would have to look into the Snape family of Severus's early childhood a little more. Severus easily attached himself to Dumbledore, too easily for the old man's liking.

"Let's go on the swing for a bit, hmm? I'll go with you."

After a session on the swing together, much to the amusement of Harry and Hagrid, Severus indicated he wanted to play by himself. Dumbledore joined the other two on the comfortable bench that stood in a convenient place to overlook the entire playground. Severus toddled after Remus, following the older boy's lead in play. Apparently, they were going to be pirates who robbed the poor unsuspecting Quidditch players on their way to the Quidditch cup.

"Such sweet boys they are," Hagrid beamed. They had been watching the children play for a long time. The boys explored every nook and cranny of their new playground. The kneazles, uncomfortable with all the attention the boys lavished upon them, simply walked off after a while, but the rabbits came to the fence eagerly to sniff the grass Remus was offering them.

"Yes," Harry agreed, "but this is only their first day together, Hagrid. We haven't had any temper tantrums and nicking of toys yet."

"Well, it'll be good for Sev'rus, especially," Hagrid nodded, "Remus had a happy childhood, even after he was bitten."

"At this age he wasn't bitten yet, so he's acting like a normal, happy boy," Harry understood, "so that is what normal children are like."

Dumbledore winced a little and once more doubted his ability to make decisions where Harry and Severus were concerned.

Severus came running up to him, and he caught the boy in his arms.

"Are you tired, my darling?" he asked, seeing the blushes on the child's cheeks. Severus nodded with his head against the Headmaster's chest.

"It's about time to get back to the castle," Albus said, calling Remus over, "and have some lunch."

Remus pouted a little, but when Albus promised him they would return to play here the next day, he obediently followed them to the castle at a much more sedate pace than he had on the way over. The Headmaster carried Severus, who did not protest even once.

Back at the castle, the children were given a quick sandwich and Severus was tucked into bed. He was asleep before Dumbledore had left the room.

"I don't nap," he heard Remus tell Harry, "I'm a big boy!"

"Of course you don't nap," Harry nodded sagely, "but Granpa and I are tired and going to do some work. Here, I got you this," he took out a story book, "when I tap it like this…" he demonstrated, "it will read itself to you. Why don't you sit on the couch and watch the pictures?"

The pictures in the book moved along with the story, and Remus listened and watched in fascination.

It took all of ten minutes for him to be fast asleep on the couch.

Harry grinned. "I learned that trick from Aunt Petunia, too," he said, "Dudley pitched huge fits if he was tired and didn't want to sleep. Aunt Petunia used to stick him in front of the tv on the couch, and he'd be out like a light in no time at all."

"And you?" Dumbledore asked softly, dreading the answer.

"Me?" Harry said in surprise, "I wasn't allowed naps. Why let me nap when I could use the time doing chores? With Dudley asleep, that was the perfect time for me to clean the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs."

"At age four?" the Headmaster gaped.

Harry's face closed off. "When I was four, I cleaned the house and was starting to learn how to cook. I could already peel potatoes without cutting myself too much – learned to do that when I was three. By the time I was seven, I could manage the entire household. I did do most of the household chores by that age, including the regular cooking – Aunt Petunia only cooked when there were guests coming over."

He turned and left the Headmaster's rooms to go on a walk before he started yelling and woke up the kids.

Dumbledore sighed again, unable to ease his conscience by repeating his 'greater good' mantra. He walked into the other room and stood looking at the peacefully sleeping baby for a long time – he looked so sweet and innocent. Not like the grown-up. Then again, had he ever bothered to get to know the adult Snape? He had lectured him about needing to let go of grudges and tricked him into a room with Remus and Harry, without ever considering Severus's side of the matter. He stroked the dark hair. The tiny child had wormed its way into his heart already, after just two days. Severus sleepily turned around and nuzzled into his hand, a smile flashing over his face before he settled back into sleep, trusting that he would be kept safe in those large, strong hands.

It was then that Dumbledore decided he would not, ever, give this child up to Voldemort again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Look, Severus

"Look, Severus! Cars!" Remus was digging through the toy box that Harry had brought from a short trip into the Muggle world. He insisted the boys got to know not only magical, but also Muggle toys.

Remus demonstrated for Severus how to move the car across the floor. Severus caught on quickly and started parking each car that Remus dug up and handed to him in a nice neat row. Remus was almost climbing into the box, his feet dangling from the floor as he fished out the last of the cars. Then he picked up one of the parked cars and started playing.

"NOOOO!! MINE!!" Severus cried, trying to grab the car back.

"No, it's mine too," Remus objected, feigning patience with the younger child, "we have to share."

"NO!" Severus managed to get his hands on the car and started pulling.

"NO Severus! GRANPA!! Severus is stealing my car!"

Dumbledore walked over and took the upset two-year-olds hands in his own. "Severus, the cars are for both of you, you have to share. You can park your cars and Remus can do what he likes with his. Now, the red cars and the yellow cars are for Remus, the green cars and the silver cars are for Severus."

Remus immediately caught on and started hoarding all the red and gold cars, but Severus simply stared, large tears forming as he saw his neat row of cars destroyed. He began to sob. Dumbledore pulled him close and held him in his arms.

"Oh, I know, it is hard having to share, isn't it, little one?"

"I think it's more likely he doesn't yet know what green and silver is, Headmaster," Harry commented from the table where he was doing his summer assignments.

"Oh. Oh dear, of course." The Headmaster quickly gathered all the green and grey cars.

"These are Severus's cars," he told the toddler. Severus sniffed a little and started rearranging the parking lot, this time with only the silver and green cars. Picking one, he followed Remus's lead of driving it across the carpet, and soon the two boys were peacefully playing together again.

"We are going to drive to Florean to get ice-cream," Remus told Severus his play idea. Severus happily agreed.

"Yummy," he said as Remus pointed at the tiny playmobile ice-cream stall on the floor.

Dumbledore looked up in utter delight and Harry doubled over in laughter.

"Well, they DID eat all their fruit and lunch," he grinned, "So I suppose we could justify…"

"Yes, yes we could," Albus nodded eagerly as a child, "but not the Alley, I think."

"Dobby would be happy to…" Harry began, but before he could finish his sentence, the elf already bounced in. He had done so several times over the last days, so the children were no longer frightened. The first time, however, he had scared them out of their tiny minds.

"What can Dobby get for yous?"

"Dobby, the children, the Headmaster and I are going to take a trip to the kitchens in a little while to get some," Harry lowered his voice to a whisper, "I.C.E.C.R.E.A.M. Can you make sure there's a nice supply for when we get there?"

"Dobby not bring it up?" the elf asked in surprise.

"No, Dobby, we are going to the kitchens so the children can ride their bikes on the way over there."

Remus, who could actually ride a bike already, had gotten an enchanted Muggle bike. It was charmed to float over staircases so he could simply ride down the stairs with no problems at all. Severus's babytrike was enchanted in the same way. Had they been 'real' children and not adults turned into children for a few weeks, Albus and Harry would not have done that – they would have to learn that stairs are not safe to ride on. As it was, they decided that it was simpler to add the charm and not worry too much about the pedagogical side of things.

By now Severus and Remus had discovered the large crane too and were hauling up cars with the tiny hook on the end of the crane.

"Ca' boom," Severus laughed as the car fell from the hook unto the floor.

"Kids," Harry smiled, "Uncle Harry needs a break and Granpa needs ice-cream. Shall we go on a little adventure to find us some ice-cream?"

"YAY!!" Remus cheered, "Chocolate ice-cream, Uncle Harry? Pleaase?"

Severus, much more reserved than his overactive 'big brother' looked up at Harry with gleaming eyes.

"Yes, you can have chocolate," Harry rolled his eyes at Dumbledore, "And Severus can have…"

"Ice!" Severus said happily.

"Put the cars back in the box and go get your bikes," Dumbledore laughed, "oh, this is a glorious idea, Harry."

This time there was no slow trek through the castle. Instead, Harry had to run to keep up with the two boys, and Dumbledore cheated by levitating himself and propelling himself forwards.

"Show-off," Harry muttered indistinctly, but loud enough for the Headmaster to overhear.

They arrived at the kitchen and Harry made to tickle the pear when the entrance simply opened.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I am the Headmaster, Harry. I don't need to resort to the tricks students use."

The children were a bit shy at first, surrounded by doting elves who seemed to want to give them whatever they would ask for, but soon they were all settled at a table. Bowls of ice-cream appeared, along with chocolate and strawberry syrup.

"Ganpa, Sevvus want!" the little boy pointed at a bowl of fresh strawberries.

Harry helped Remus scoop some fruits onto his chocolate ice-cream which was then covered in both types of syrup. The sugar-bomb thus created was then attacked efficiently by the beaming child.

Severus laughed merrily when one of the elves stuck a tiny coloured paper umbrella in his ice-cream. "Loo' Weemus!"

"I want one too!" Remus bounced in his chair.

"How do you ask?" Dumbledore corrected.

"May I have one too, please, Sir?" Remus addressed the nearest House Elf.

"Little Master Moony is such a polite wizard!" the Elf bawled, "Little Masters is so cute!"

Within seconds, another umbrella stuck out of Remus's ice-cream and both boys proceeded to cover themselves with the sticky treats. Dumbledore clearly enjoyed his own ice-cream just as much as the children and Harry took slow, savouring bites of his own, knowing he could not have too much as his stomach was still sensitive from the low rations in early summer.

"Now Dobby," Dumbledore motioned to the Elf, "This Saturday we are going to celebrate Severus's birthday. Of course, we are going to need a cake and all kinds of treats…"

The elves en-masse started to weep with happiness. "A Party! A Party! Oh, we is going to make so many yummy things! Thank you Master Headmaster Sir!"

Severus surprised them all by climbing down from his chair and putting his arms around the neck of the elf standing next to him, covering the poor creature with ice-cream and syrup.

"Don' cwy," he said, in an obvious attempt to comfort the creatures.

Unfortunately his kindness only had the result of increasing the amount of wailing, as all elves were touched by the tiny toddler.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore finally ordered sternly, "you are upsetting the boys. I am glad you are all willing to help us out with the party, but please – the children will fear you have hurt yourselves if you continue crying."

That shut the elves up admirably. Upsetting the 'Little Masters' was the last thing they wanted after all.

"Can it be chocolate cake?" Remus asked.

"Oh yes, Little Master Moony," Dobby answered, "Chocolate cake with strawberries and yummy jam on the inside. We is keeping the decorations secret for now."

Harry had picked up Severus and sat him on his lap, helping him eat his ice-cream. Severus leaned back against Harry's chest contently.

Soon they were on their way back to the Headmasters Tower, with two very satisfied but incredibly dirty boys on a sugar high.

"Bath, I think," Dumbledore grinned, "nice warm water with lots of toys."

"Yes, well, I don't think we need to feed them any dinner," Harry commented ruefully, "If professor McGonagall knew…"

"She doesn't, and we're going to keep it that way," Dumbledore hastily demanded, "She scares me when she's angry, even though I have known her since she was eleven years old."

"Do the others know about the de-aging?" Harry asked.

"Yes, they do. At least, the ones who are in the castle while we care for the boys. It is your birthday as well next week, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Harry realized, "I do hope my friends will know where to reach me by owl."

"We can do better than that," Dumbledore smiled, "You can have your party here, too, so your friends can all visit."

Upstairs in the bathroom Harry ran the bath while Dumbledore undressed the two sticky toddlers. Dirty clothes were dispensed of immediately – the hamper Banished all laundry directly to the House Elves. Remus was able to get his own clothes off and soon was settled into the warm soapy water. Boats and ducks floated in it, as well as a plastic teapot and several cups.

"I'm going to make Sev'rus some tea," Remus announced. Dumbledore stripped Severus of his clothes, his dirty nappy and cleaned him up before lowering him into the bath, where the child accepted the cup from Remus.

"No drinking the water," Harry warned, "soap is not for drinking. It will make you sick."

"Boat," Severus said, and pushed it towards Remus, who caught on and turned it around, pushing it back to Severus.

Both boys giggled as they pushed boats and ducks back and forth.

"Now, time to wash up," Dumbledore announced when he came back. He took a washcloth and moved to Remus.

"Your hair needs washing too, there's chocolate in it!" he exclaimed.

Remus dove away from his hands. "Not my hair, not my hair!"

"Child, I have to get the chocolate out," Dumbledore patiently explained, but Remus refused to come near. Several more attempts to reason with the four year old failed, and resulted only in Harry looking on in amusement and Severus in confusion.

"Remus John Lupin," Harry finally said sternly, "Granpa is going to wash your hair. You can cooperate and not get soap in your eyes, or you can keep fussing and I'm going to empty a bucket of water over your head and you WILL get soap in your eyes. What will it be?"

Remus pouted but shifted over to where Dumbledore was.

"Look up to the ceiling, child," Dumbledore encouraged, "that way I can keep the water away from your eyes. Good boy," he finally managed to wet the hair with the little teapot and massaged a generous amount of shampoo in. Then he used the teapot again to rinse, much to Severus's amusement.

"There, all done," he quickly got a towel and towelled the hair dry, "was that so bad, hmm?"

"No, Granpa. I'm sorry," Remus said contritely.

"It is alright, child. Now, just washing up your face," that was done quickly enough, "and you can play. It's Severus's turn now."

The dark eyes widened, but realizing, from the display earlier that cooperation yielded the least unpleasant results, Severus scooted over to Dumbledore. The old wizard gently caught his neck and shoulders and leaned him backwards, again using the teapot. Another handful of shampoo, rinsing and face-cleaning and Severus was as good as new too.

They let the children play a little longer but after a few minutes, Dumbledore held out a towel to Remus, who let himself be lifted from the bath with little complaint, still somewhat bouncy.

Drying him down and dressing him in his pyjamas was done quickly.

"Can I ride piggy-back, Granpa?" Remus asked, and Dumbledore could not refuse the large brown eyes and puppy dog look – Remus was an expert in those, Harry had said wryly the very first day of his de-aging.

"Come on then, I'll carry you to your bed," Dumbledore agreed, "up you go."

Harry took out Severus, who put his arms around Harry's neck and sighed sleepily.

"Tired, kiddo?" Harry smiled, rocking the baby a little. Then he quickly dried him, put on a clean diaper and dressed him in his pyjamas too.

"Time to sleep," he lifted the child in his arms, carrying him to his cot. He rocked the warm, relaxed body and hummed to him, a lullaby he had heard Aunt Petunia sing to Dudley. He didn't know the words – he had only learned the tune through the walls when he sat in his cupboard listening.

Meanwhile, Albus was reading Remus a story and Harry noticed that he was weaving a suggestion charm in his voice, making Remus sleepy. It was no surprise, then, that once Harry had settled Severus into his cot and hummed the little boy to sleep, Remus had lost the battle against sleep as well.

"Well, another day down," Dumbledore sighed, "Come, my boy – we have parties to plan."


	5. Chapter 5

Bright and early the next morning, Remus woke and looked around

Bright and early the next morning, Remus woke and looked around. Sunlight was already streaming down the window and he could see that Severus was awake too, laying quietly in his cot playing with his toy cat.

"Severus," he whispered.

The little boy's head turned to him. "Do you want to get out?"

"Sevvus out!" the toddler nodded.

"Come, then," Remus pushed a small chair to the bars of the cot.

Severus managed to get one foot on it through the bars and hoisted himself up. Aided by Remus holding on to his hands, he got one leg over and reached until he could put his toes on the chair. The other leg was a piece of cake after that.

"Sevvus out," he repeated, pleased with himself.

"Yes. What will we go do?"

"Pay?" Severus cocked his head.

"Yes. But not with the stupid nursery stuff." Remus frowned. "I know! We will go down to the playground."

He grabbed his and Severus's jacket from a hook in the corner of the room and helped his 'brother' put it on.

"Now we have to be real quiet," he whispered as they tiptoed past Dumbledore's room.

sssssssss

He was having a beautiful sleep. Sunny beaches, wind in his hair, the seagulls calling him frantically…

"HEADMASTER! Headmaster, wake up!"

One of the castle's ghosts floated by his bed.

"Wake up, Headmaster! Your children have run off, we saw them heading for the grounds."

That woke the old man up properly.

"Harry Potter has been woken up also – quickly."

Dumbledore jumped from his bed, spelled his nightshirt into robes as he did so and rushed to the nursery.

It was empty.

The small chair still standing by Severus's cot explained how the toddler got out. The children's jackets were gone – he rolled his eyes at the thought that the two would be so disobedient as to run off, but still remember his usual command of 'put your jacket on'.

He literally sprinted down the stairs until he caught up with Harry in the Entrance Hall.

"Calm down, Headmaster," though the boy looked worried himself, "Dobby told me they've gone to the playground."

"When I get my hands on those two," Dumbledore grumbled, "they are in a world of trouble." Truth be told, he wasn't so much angry as terrified at the thought of what could have befallen the children and needed to vent his anxiety.

Harry looked around as they strode over the grounds. "Just promise you won't hit them," he looked a little pale.

"If I'd pulled a stunt like that when I was their age…" the Headmaster began, but then sighed. "I am not going to hurt them, dear boy. Let's first find our little rascals, shall we?"

Soon they saw the little ones, on bare feet and in pyjamas, but with their jackets on, playing on the swings. Then Remus saw them and gasped.

"REMUS LUPIN! SEVERUS SNAPE!" Dumbledore thundered, "come here this instant!"

The children walked towards him with bowed heads, and stood at what they thought was a safe distance.

"Running away! Sneaking out! I am very disappointed in your behaviour," Dumbledore chided, "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

Remus rubbed a fist over his eyes to fight back tears. "I'm sorry, Granpa."

"Are you? Did you think I would have let you go here on your own? Did you know you were being very naughty?"

"Yes, Granpa," Remus whispered, "We just wanted to play."

"Well, I am not happy with what you have done and you will both be punished." The Headmaster sternly said.

Remus's head shot up. "Please, Granpa, don't take away Severus's party! It was my fault, I let him out and took him here."

"Hush, child," Dumbledore mellowed, "I am not taking away the party. We are going back up to my rooms and you will both have time-out for five minutes. You can also not go outdoors today and tomorrow – so no playground until the party."

"Yes, Granpa," Remus bit his lip, wanting to argue but even his four and a half year old brain realised they were let off rather easy, considering what they had done.

"Good." Dumbledore then noticed the second boy. Whereas Remus looked guilty and contrite, little Severus was clearly absolutely terrified. He shrank back when Dumbledore fixed his gaze on him and kept very quiet, far too quiet for a young toddler.

"Severus," Dumbledore gently called him, "come here, child. I'm not going to hurt you."

The boy slowly approached him, trembling all over. Dumbledore picked him up, held the small head against his shoulder to stroke the dark hair and crooned to him.

"It's alright, little one, I'm not going to hurt you. You are only getting a time-out, sweetheart, shhh, now."

Once Severus had calmed, Dumbledore carried the child on his arm – tripling their travelling speed - while Harry took Remus's hand. Once back upstairs, Dumbledore directed each boy to a corner.

"Face the wall, Remus. You stay in this corner, Severus. You have to have time-out for running away like that. In five minutes I will call you."

He retreated a little further into the room with Harry, who had called an elf to bring up breakfast in a little while.

"We have a problem," Dumbledore frowned, "did you see Severus's reaction?"

Harry nodded. "He still has not asked about his parents, either. I know he is very young…"

"He should be far less accepting of this situation," Dumbledore mused, "at least call for his mother when he is hurt or upset. Yet he does not."

"We should probably look into it and probe him a little, but not now, he's upset enough as it is."

Dumbledore nodded and moved back to the children.

"Alright, time's up, boys. Remus, come give Granpa a hug."

The boy sprinted towards Dumbledore and threw himself in his arms for a long, swinging hug.

"You not mad at me anymore, Granpa?"

"I am not angry with you anymore," Dumbledore confirmed, "I was just very worried when you ran away. I love you and Severus very, very much."

He cuddled the boy close for a moment before handing him to Harry.

"Harry is going to wash and dress you, and then we'll see about having some breakfast, won't we?"

He walked over to Severus and gently gathered the tiny child in his arms, settling them on the couch.

"Are you alright, my little one?" he asked, holding the boy in a tight embrace.

"Gam…Gampa," the boy stammered, before bursting into tears. Dumbledore rocked and soothed him, telling him over and over how much he loved him.

"Good, my boy, let it all out. Granpa loves you so very much, my sweet boy. There, there now."

Severus leaned into Dumbledore's arms and finally the crying ceased.

"Let's get you cleaned up and dressed as well, shall we? You need a clean nappy, and nice warm socks."

He carried the docile child to the bathroom and washed him up. The very wet nappy was replaced with a clean one and finally Severus was dressed in clean clothes.

"Do I have to eat porridge for breakfast now?" Remus asked fearfully as they set down at the table.

"No, sweetheart. Your punishment was five minutes time-out and no playground until the party. I am not going to add all kinds of nasty things to that."

Harry took Severus from Dumbledore and settled him on his lap – the boy was quiet and neither of them felt like putting him in his high chair. A small bowl of oatmeal appeared and Harry added some diced pear on top of it.

"Open up," he held out a spoon to the child. Severus dutifully allowed the spoonful of porridge and fruit to be transferred to his mouth. He chewed, his eyes a little more animated.

"Pea'" he pointed.

"Another bit?" Harry smiled and fed the boy bites of pear and oatmeal while Albus helped Remus with his usual toast and jam.

After breakfast they split up, Harry settling on the couch with Severus to read stories as Albus took Remus with him to the nursery.

"You got Severus out of his cot this morning," he said to the boy, and tears began to form in the brown eyes again.

"Shhh, child. I told you, I am not angry with you. I want to explain things to you and teach you a little trick."

Remus looked up, interested.

"While the chair was a logical first choice, you should not do that anymore. Severus could fall as he tries to climb out and hurt himself. I also want you to remain in the room until Harry or I come to get you. You can only come out to use the bathroom and then you go right back in. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Granpa," Remus nodded.

"Now, in the room you can play all you want when you wake up early, and you can help Severus out of his cot, too, only not with the chair. I'll show you."

Dumbledore tapped the cot with his wand a few times. "There. Now press your finger on the glowing circle on the side of the cot."

Remus obeyed and his eyes widened when the bars on one side of the cot disappeared.

"You can ONLY do this when Severus is awake," Dumbledore told him, "this is a much safer way to help him out, don't you think?"

"Yes Granpa," Remus watched as Dumbledore made the bars reappear.

The Headmaster smiled down at the boy. "What do you say to playing a game together, just the two of us?"

The happy smile he got in return made him forget all the morning's frustrations.


	6. Chapter 6

"G-Gampa

"G-Gampa?" Dumbledore looked up blearily.

A tiny hand reached out and tentatively touched his shoulder. "G-Gampa mad?"

"Severus?" Dumbledore finally understood, "did you let yourself out of your cot?"

He checked the time – nearly four in the morning. A quick glance through the open nursery door told him Remus was still fast asleep. Apparently, Severus had very quickly picked up on the 'open the cot' trick and could now release himself.

The large dark eyes filled with tears. "Gampa mad?"

"Oh, no, darling," Dumbledore lifted the toddler onto the bed, "what is the matter, my boy?"

He wrinkled his nose. Definitely needed a new nappy. Severus just shook his head and hid against his nightshirt.

"Shhh, my baby," Dumbledore wondered where on earth he found all the tiny endearments people used on children, but they did seem to come naturally.

"Mum," Severus muttered, and the large amount of fear in his voice kept Dumbledore from making the mistake of thinking he was asking for her.

"What did Mum do, Severus?" he asked, wondering if it was the right kind of question.

Severus pressed his hands to his eyes. "Sowwy!"

"Shhh," Dumbledore soothed the child, "it's alright. I'm not angry with you, child." He wondered where the child had found the courage to come to him.

"Let's get you nice and clean," he carried the toddler to the bathroom, "and you can stay with Granpa."

Suddenly the boy's eyes shone with hope. "Sevvus wif Gampa?"

Dumbledore stared in shock, but quickly nodded. "Severus is going to stay with Granpa," he confirmed.

Much calmer, the little boy allowed the quick diaper-change he was given and then he was carried back to the large bed. Dumbledore laid down on his back, the child in his arm. Severus curled against him, a thumb in his mouth.

"Sevvus stay," the child sighed deeply before being overcome with sleep again. Dumbledore however, did not close another eye for the rest of the night, protectively holding the small life in his arms and cursing himself for allowing some of his students to be hurt so much.

ssssssssss

The day of Severus's birthday party arrived, and Dumbledore was pleased that the boy, though still shy and quiet, was finally interacting with them more. It was easier to get him to laugh, for one. Apparently Dumbledore's reassurance that he was to stay in Albus and Harry's care had given the child some much-needed confidence in them. While he still preferred Dumbledore where Remus preferred Harry, Severus was growing much more at ease with the teen, especially because Harry took great care, the two days the children were not allowed outside, to play with Severus and read to him. Reading books and naming things were still Severus's favourite games that he often played with Remus as well – when the mood struck the older boy. Dumbledore had spent time with Remus, teaching the child some new games and even engaged him in a gruelling game of tag.

Remus behaved like a normal little boy, besides obviously missing his mother and father. Dumbledore had done some digging, though, and presented the boy with a picture of himself and his parents, probably taken at his fourth birthday party, and told him his parents had sent it so he could keep it at his bedside. He felt a little guilty for lying to the child, as well as for digging through the adult Lupins possessions (which remained at Hogwarts) but he supposed it was for a good cause. Harry agreed and said that if Remus HAD in fact stayed at Hogwarts when he was four, his parents probably would have given him a picture.

When Remus asked Severus if he wanted his parents to send a picture too, the boy had hidden under Remus's bed and refused to come out until Dumbledore literally lay on the floor and reassured him.

"_Severus, honey, come out," the Headmaster was not above begging, "Remus meant nothing wrong. You are staying with me, remember?"_

_No response._

"_Severus is going to stay with Granpa and Harry and Remus," Dumbledore insisted, hoping he was somehow reaching the child. Of course, they could simply levitate the bed and get the boy from under it, but they feared it would only frighten the child more. _

"_Stay wif Gampa?" a very tiny, very shaky voice asked from the dark beneath the bed._

"_Yes, Severus is going to stay with Granpa," Dumbledore repeated._

"_No Mum? No Da?"_

"_Severus is going to stay with Granpa," Dumbledore hoped that continuing this mantra would allow the boy to calm._

_He noticed the tiniest bit of movement. "Gampa mad?"_

"_No, no, my darling boy. I'm not angry with you. Why don't you come to Granpa and have a cuddle?"_

_A few more minutes, and Severus crawled right into Albus' awaiting arms, who sat on the floor with the child cocooned in his arms for the longest time, rocking and soothing. Harry managed to, in veiled terms, explain to Remus why Severus reacted so badly and that it was in no way his fault. It had increased their worry over the dark-haired child and strengthened their resolve to provide him with a safe home, now and when he was an adult again._

Of course, Remus woke all of them up long before dawn, including Severus, who would have been decidedly cranky if Dumbledore hadn't taken both boys into his own large bed to sleep a little more.

Then, leaving Severus asleep in his bed with a spell to keep him from falling off, he woke Remus up again at six thirty and together they decorated Severus's high chair. Together with Harry, the Headmaster had already finished putting up the other decorations. A pile of presents was sitting on the table before Severus's chair. An even larger pile was in front of Remus and Dumbledore frowned. He had clearly let people know it was Severus's birthday party, and that it would be all right to send Remus a present too, but Severus was the birthday boy.

For a moment he wondered what to do, but was rescued by Harry who entered, saw the piles and frowned too. Fortunately, the boy pulled a couple of packages out of his own pockets, enlarged them and added three of the four to Severus's pile, one of them quite large.

"It is a good thing Severus is unlikely to be spoiled with presents in the past," the boy commented, "I feel like it's Dudleys birthday all over again."

"I fear many of the people we let know feel more for Remus than for Severus," Dumbledore sighed, "I had hoped that him being a small boy would cause them to be…well."

In Severus' pile there were presents from Harry, Albus and Remus. Remus had been given presents by Ron and the twins as well as most of the staff.

"Hagrid is coming up after breakfast. Mrs Weasley promised she'd drop by as well," Harry said, "and Hermione asked if it was alright to come with Mrs Weasley."

Sound from the bedroom alerted them that Severus had woken up, and soon the little boy entered holding Remus's hand who had gone to retrieve him.

"Look, Severus! Presents!"

The child looked a bit dazed. Harry picked him up. "First we sing," he announced, and all three of them sang Happy Birthday to a confused Severus.

Then he was settled in his high chair. He stared at the presents, at a loss.

"Look, Severus, open them like this!" Remus demonstrated how to tear off the paper to discover the toy inside.

With a little encouragement from Harry and Dumbledore, Severus opened his first present, one of Harry's. It contained a Baby's First Broomstick - something Remus eyed enviously.

"Ah, wonderful," Dumbledore smiled, "you'll have lots of fun on this, Severus."

The second present was from Dumbledore and contained something resembling an encyclopaedia, only with pictures. Albus happily demonstrated that pressing one of the pictures made the book call out the name of whatever was in that particular picture as well as a short explanation.

"He probably won't understand the entire explanation yet, but he will love it anyway," Albus smiled as Severus immediately started trying out pictures.

Remus tore through his presents at an admirable speed and did not play with anything until all packages had been unwrapped. Severus on the other hand, kept playing with his book and did not seem interested in the other presents.

"We will let him unwrap at his own pace," Harry shrugged as he managed to get some bites of breakfast into the two year old while he was distracted by the pictures. Remus had chewed down some eggs and was already on the floor, playing with his new toys.

As it became clear that Severus was not going to open the other presents, Dumbledore sat with the child in his lap on the couch while Harry put the remaining presents on the dressoir.

The children played for a while, completely enchanted with their new toys. Then they were both washed and dressed in their best clothes. Severus wore a new pair of baby jeans and a white button up dress shirt that would hopefully remain clean for at least fifteen minutes. Remus looked nice in his khaki pants. Mrs Weasley had, instead of a Weasley jumper which would be far too warm in summer, sent him a blue polo shirt with a grey wolf embroidered on it. Remus fell in love with it, ironically, and wanted to wear it immediately.

At about ten, a knock on the door heralded the arrival of Hagrid. The large man had taken great pains over the past days to gain Severus's trust. Once the boy understood that the giant of a man was actually very nice, he warmed up to Hagrid though he remained a bit in awe. Remus absolutely loved the scruffy COMC professor.

"Heard there's a birthday party 'ere," Hagrid rumbled, "and I gots presents for the li'l tykes."

Severus looked up from his book and toddled over to Hagrid, who carefully lifted him.

"So, two years old already, are ye?" he lowered his voice to avoid scaring the skittish baby, "I have a present for you."

"An' me, Hagrid? For me, too?" Remus jumped up and down.

"Remus Lupin," Dumbledore chided, "it is very impolite to ask for presents."

"Sorry, Granpa," Remus looked contrite for all of two seconds before turning large, expectant eyes on Hagrid again.

Hagrid handed a present to Severus who poked it curiously. He handed another present to the waiting Remus, who cheered and barely remembered to get out a 'thank you' before tearing open the paper.

Severus began to pull the wrapping paper as well, aided by Harry who undid the mass of spellotape holding it together. A carved wooden dragon on wheels, painted in bright colours emerged. A bit of string on one end allowed Severus to pull the dragon across the floor. As he did so, the animal shot sparks from his mouth.

"Ain't hot, them sparks," Hagrid explained, "Had Pr'fesser Flitwick help me with that."

Remus was cooing over the small wooden figures of a wizard, holding out his wand, and a large Acromantula. Like Severus's dragon, the wizard's wand shot sparks when the figure was moved.

Fifteen minutes later, the Floo sparked. Severus ran towards the nearest safe person – Harry – and clung to his legs. Harry took him on his arm.

"It's alright, Sev, it's just the Floo. More people are coming to celebrate your birthday, you lucky boy," he tickled Severus slightly. The toddler squirmed with a smile on his face.

Mrs Weasley, looking hot and agitated, emerged from the Floo, followed almost instantly by an equally angry looking Hermione. As they spotted the children, their faces split into large smiles, reassuring Severus and Remus that these women were, at the very least, not angry with _them_.

"Ah, here's our birthday boy," Mrs Weasley cooed, and carefully approached Severus – she wasn't sure how the child would react to her, after all. To everyone's surprise, however, Severus held out his hands to her and let himself be cuddled by the witch.

"Ah," Albus said, his eyes twinkling, "I should have realized. Red hair."

Everyone turned to stare at the eccentric old wizard.

"Severus was great friends with Lily," the old man explained, "before a fall-out in their fifth year. He always kept a soft spot for her, however, and apparently a woman with red hair reminds him of Lily – or in this case probably Lily's mother – and to him that means safety."

"Gee," Harry commented, "you are improving, Headmaster. Did you read up on psychology and child-rearing?"

The old man blushed, making it clear to everyone that Harry was right on target.

Meanwhile, Severus played with Molly Weasley's necklace and babbled to her. The witch had sat down on the couch, Hermione next to them. Severus spared her a small smile, but then turned back to the red-haired Weasley Matriarch.

"Sevvus 'tay Gampa," he informed the witch, a slightly apprehensive look on his face.

"Yes, you are staying with Granpa," Molly confirmed, kissing his cheek, "and what a lovely chair you have! Did you get a present, too?"

Severus nodded happily and scrambled off her lap. He soon returned with one hand pulling the dragon and his book tucked under the other arm.

"Oooh, these are lovely!" Molly exclaimed and Severus nodded proudly.

"So, Hermione and I brought you a present as well," Molly told the child.

"Weemus too?" Severus wanted to know, not liking the thought of his foster-brother being left out.

"Yes, a present for Remus too. But it is your birthday, so you can have yours first."

Remus leaned against Hermione's knee.

Severus received a shirt with a large S on it that twinkled alternately in silver and green. He also got a package of chocolate frogs. Remus unwrapped his own chocolate frog and looked up at Dumbledore, who nodded.

The boys had fun letting the frogs out of their box and chasing them before stuffing them in their mouths. Hermione gave them both a Muggle book of fairytales.

"Book, Awwy!" Severus pushed the book in Harry's and, insisting he wanted to be read right there and then. Harry laughed.

"Later, before you go nap," he promised, "first we have cake!"

"YAY, cake!" Remus clapped and Severus grinned, the book temporarily forgotten.

As the adults had feared, the elves in their enthusiasm had gone utterly and completely overboard. A huge cake was brought up, chocolate, as the elves had promised, decorated with lots of cream, coloured sweets, tiny trains and two S shaped candles in the middle. Trays of other confections appeared, along with tea, coffee and juices. The boys gaped, stunned with the enormity of all the treats.

Harry groaned. "I think we can skip any plans we had for lunch," he remarked as he lifted Severus into his high chair and put the cake in front of him so he could blow out the candles.

"Blow out the candles, then, Severus," Remus encouraged, "like this!" he blew, not in the direction of the candles, to show Severus what was expected of him.

Severus clapped and copied the action, blowing out one of the candles. He laughed and blew out the other, too.

Both boys received a generous helping of the cake, which turned out to be filled with jam and a thick yellow cream. Hagrid took a slice as well, but the others stuck to the smaller treats on the plates.

"Why were you looking like you were about to murder someone when you came in, 'Mione?" Harry asked the witch softly.

Hermione and Mrs Weasley's eyes flashed again in remembered anger. "We tried to convince the others to come, we really did. Arthur had work, of course, but the boys and Ginny all refused. They seem incapable of realizing that Severus is only two years old, but what really angered us was that they acknowledged that they did send Remus a load of presents and not Severus."

Harry sighed. "We noticed. Fortunately, Severus has little experience with gifts – he hasn't opened all of his presents yet, even – but we were both upset by it too."

"Well," Molly settled back, sipping her tea and nibbling on a chocolate éclair, "Let's forget about those misguided souls and focus on making Severus a very happy little birthday boy today."

And so they did. By the end of the afternoon, two dirty boys on a sugar high waved goodbye to the guests. Both were subjected to a quick wash-up before each was given a spoonful of stomach soother. Fortunately, the children's version tasted like strawberries and they had no trouble getting the children to take it.

A few bites of dinner, and Severus was asleep in his plate, Remus rubbed his eyes furiously, Harry was grinning like mad and Dumbledore pronounced the day a success.

Harry took Remus to change into his pjs and then rock him to sleep in the rocking chair, knowing the boy would never be able to fall asleep on his own after the busy day they'd had.

Albus lifted Severus from his chair, wiped off the mashed potatoes and used a small spell to brush the child's teeth. Severus didn't wake throughout the procedure, but when Dumbledore tried to tuck him in his bed, he turned in his arms and snuggled into Albus's robes.

"Gampa," he muttered contently, cheeks rosy with sleep.

"Yes, darling, Granpa is here," Dumbledore laid him down on his side, pulled the blanket over him and softly rubbed the small back until Severus was fast asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

A few quiet days followed the intense birthday party for Severus

A few quiet days followed the intense birthday party for Severus. The toddler did eventually unwrap all of his presents, though the book remained his favourite. He was only allowed to ride the broom outside – Remus had gotten the slightly bigger model and they zoomed about the grounds happily – so inside he could often be found curled up on Harry's or Albus's lap, depending on who was available, with his precious book.

"Shall I take him out for the day when your friends come over, Harry?" the Headmaster asked one morning, when Severus sat playing with his dragon and Remus was with Hagrid in the playground.

"I thought about it," Harry admitted, "mainly because I am concerned they might upset or hurt him. Then again, Severus is part of my life now. I will not allow them to simply ignore him because they think there is nothing wrong with being unfair to a small child. If they hurt Severus, it is they who should leave, not Severus who belongs here."

Severus, hearing his name, toddled over to them with a huge smile on his face, glad to have Granpa and Harry to himself for a bit. He climbed onto Albus's lap and threw his arms around the old wizard's neck. Dumbledore cuddled the small body and held him tight.

"Hello, my darling," he said gently, "are you done playing? Would you like a drink and a biscuit?"

Severus nodded brightly, and soon he was sitting on Dumbledore's lap, sipping juice from a sippy cup and getting soggy biscuit all over the Headmaster's beard.

"Weemus?" he asked.

"Remus is with Hagrid. He will be back when we eat lunch," Harry replied. He ruffled the dark hair.

"Severus, tomorrow is my birthday," he told the toddler.

"Awwy pa'ty?" Severus asked, remembering the great fun he had with his own party.

"Yes, there will be a small party. And you will get another piece of cake as well, though not as outrageous as last week," Harry glanced at the Headmaster.

"There will be people coming over that you don't know yet. Molly Weasley and Hermione are coming too, would you like that? The lady with the red hair?"

Severus bit into another biscuit he was holding with two hands, his eyes focussed on Harry.

"If you get scared by all the strange people, come find me or Granpa, alright?" Harry smiled.

"It will be fine, Harry," Dumbledore assured him. "Now, why don't you go discuss the treats you want with Dobby and the kitchen elves? I am going to take Severus out to the playground as well, I think – the weather is nice."

Harry nodded brightly and left. Dumbledore stood up and swung Severus in his arms, holding the toddler over his head. Severus laughed.

"'Gain, Gampa!"

But Albus set him on the floor. "We are going to get Remus, and then we are going to the village to buy a present for Harry," he told the boy, who looked up at him curiously. Dumbledore carried the boy down to the playground where Hagrid was sitting on the ship, an eye patch over his face and his hands bound by Fang's leash.

"Aye, ye scurvy mate!" Remus yelled at him, "Give me sweets, or you will be kneehauled!"

"Kneehauled?" Albus questioned.

"Yeah," Remus explained, dropping his 'pirate' role, "Daddy says that when I'm bad. He tells me if I keep it up he will haul me over his knee. I'm not sure what it is cuz he never does, but it sounds bad. An' pirates do that too on their ships, I heard it myself."

Albus truly, honestly regretted that Harry was not here for this major misunderstanding of the Pirata Codex. He could not help the laugh that escaped, nor could Hagrid help the loud guffaw that escaped him. Remus looked at them somewhat confused.

"Come, my boy," Albus said, tooling his face into seriousness with some effort, "Severus and I came to pick you up. We are going to the village to buy Harry a birthday present."

"YAY!" Remus cheered and came down from the boat.

"Yer not walking with them tykes, are ye, Headmaster?"

"Of course not, Hagrid. Here." Dumbledore pulled something from his pocket and enlarged it. It turned out to be a walker with a step behind it. Dumbledore strapped Severus into it, told Remus to stand on the step and then stood behind Remus as the walker started to hover a little. Soon it was zooming towards the village at a remarkable speed, the boys squealing in excitement.

"Again, Granpa, again!" Remus yelled when they reached the village and Dumbledore cancelled the charms.

"'Gain, Gampa," Severus echoed.

"When we go back," Dumbledore promised, "now, what are we going to buy for Harry?"

"Book!" Severus said, at the same time Remus said "Candy!"

Albus laughed. "We can buy him both. He will get a book from Severus and candy from Remus. Let's go to Honeydukes and you can get him a Gift Box, Remus."

"Can we have sweets too, Granpa?" Remus asked with his puppy dog eyes.

"MAY we have sweets," Dumbledore corrected.

"YAY, we get sweets!" the little rascal quickly interpreted the correction as permission.

"Remus!" the Headmaster scolded, but his eyes twinkled. "Alright, you and Severus get one piece of candy each. AFTER we buy Harry's present."

Inside, the smiling shopkeeper filled up a 5 galleon gift box with all the candies and chocolate Remus pointed out and then wrapped it up nicely. Remus and Severus both got a Honeydukes Best Spill Free Children's Bar – a chocolate bar with all the nutrients of several assorted vegetables – that they chewed happily on their way to the bookstore.

"Awwy book!" Severus plucked a book entitled 'Hugo the little Unicorn' from the shelves.

"That is very sweet of you, little one, but I think Harry needs a more…grown-up book," Dumbledore told the child. Severus looked a little lost. Not a unicorn book? What a freakish world WAS this?

"Come," Dumbledore held out his hand to the children, "let's go find Harry a nice book."

"No! Awwy book!" Severus insisted, pushing the unicorn book into Dumbledore's hand.

"Severus, sweetheart, Harry does not read these books anymore," Albus tried to explain.

Large tears started to form into Severus' eyes. Why could he not give Harry the nice book? It was a really wonderful book! Granpa had said they would buy Harry something nice and now he was not allowed to buy him the nicest book in the store!

Dumbledore sighed and pressed his hand to his forehead. "Alright, Severus. We will give Harry the book."

"You're a pushover, you know that, don't you?" he heard the voice of his Deputy behind him.

"Minerva! When did you get back? I doubt Severus meant anything bad," he defended the toddler.

"Of course not, he just wants to give Harry the nicest gift he can think of," the stern witch actually smiled at the children, "I'm sorry I missed your birthday party. In fact, I was just here to pick out a gift for you two, and now you can save me the trouble of deciding."

She squatted in front of the two children. "Go pick out a nice book for yourself. Yes, you too, Severus," she urged, "you are getting a present, too."

With a loud yell, Remus stormed through the children's department of the store, followed at a much calmer rate by Severus, who cast several suspicious glances over his shoulder to make sure Granpa did not sneakily replace his choice book for Harry.

" I had not expected you back for a few more days, my dear," Albus said to the witch.

"Ah well, family is nice, but too much of a good thing," she grinned wryly, "I decided to come back early. What a little darling Severus is at this age. I must confess, when I heard about the de-aging I was a little surprised Severus would ever agree to such a thing."

The blush on the Headmaster's face told her enough. "Oh no…Albus, you didn't!"

Dumbledore sighed. "I did not have a lot of options, Minerva. Granted, it was my own fault…"

She pulled him to the small table where they could keep an eye on the children. "What happened?"

As he related the story to her, her lips thinned more and more. "Albus Dumbledore! Of all the stupid, insensitive, thoughtless things to do!"

Suddenly a small dark haired head appeared and Severus climbed onto Dumbledore's lap.

"Sevvuh wuf Gampa," he told the Deputy Headmistress reproachfully. The glare on his small face clearly said 'don't you dare yell at MY Granpa, lady, or you will regret it!'

Dumbledore cuddled his small defender. "It's alright, Severus. Aunt Minerva is a really nice lady, and Granpa deserves to be yelled at. Did you find a book?"

He nearly rolled his eyes when Severus put a 'Wizard's First Magical Encyclopaedia' on the table. Minerva nodded approvingly at the boy.

"A very good choice, Severus," she complimented him, "that's a nice book."

Remus returned a little later with the magical version of Little Red Riding Hood, and the adults could not help but sigh at the irony.

As they rang up their purchases, Severus beamed when the book he'd chosen for Harry was wrapped in bright paper.

"Awwy," he said happily.

Minerva couldn't help it. She picked him up and cuddled him. "Oh, you little darling," she cooed, "what a wonderful present you bought for Harry."

Remus pulled her robes. "I bought Harry sweets," he said, pointing to the Honeydukes box.

Minerva squatted again, Severus on her hip, and kissed Remus on his brown hair. "I am so proud of you, to get such nice things for Harry," she praised, "I am sure he will be so happy and surprised when he gets them."

As Remus skipped ahead to the tiny BroomsRus store down the street where Albus planned on purchasing his gift for Harry and Severus walked between them, holding both their hands, Minerva managed a small smile for her employer and long-time friend.

"I am still angry with you over this," she said, before looking down on the black head between them, "but he is obviously a very happy little boy. It is so good to see him like this – I only hope a little of it will linger when he grows up. I am very, very proud of Remus for suggesting that he join Severus – and of Harry for giving up his godfather this summer. You don't deserve those three boys, Albus!" she scolded lightly.

A little later, with a bunch of packages, two tired children in the walker and the two adults standing behind them (Albus steering and Minerva holding on to Albus, to the boys delight) they arrived back in the Headmasters rooms. They quickly put the presents away, impressed once again upon the boys that they were a SECRET, and sat down to lunch as an agitated Harry walked in.

"I can't believe how many treats they made me sample," he complained, "as if I didn't taste any food on Severus's birthday. I swear it almost seemed like Dobby didn't want to let me leave the kitchen for the entire morning."

He missed the Headmaster's slightly guilty look. Minerva did not.

"I suppose you would not care for lunch then, Harry?" she asked, diverting the attention from the Headmaster.

"Oh – I apologise, Professor, I did not see you. How are you? No, I don't want any lunch, thank you. I'm not even sure I will want dinner. Hello boys," he ruffled brown and black hair, "did you have a good time?"

"Awwy book!" Severus said, bouncing a little. The others blanched, but fortunately Harry misunderstood.

"I'll read to you before I put you to bed after lunch," he promised.

The boys ate calmly and Minerva curiously followed Harry to the nursery. He expertly changed Severus's nappy and put him into his pyjamas. Then he settled into the rocking chair with the boy and a book. The witch couldn't help the delighted smile on her face at the scene. Severus insisted on kissing her before he went to bed, and she happily obliged. Harry tucked the little boy in – the baby did look adorable as he put his thumb in his mouth and drifted off with a sigh.

Harry spent most of the afternoon working on his assignments, and Dumbledore on the mail. Remus rushed over to her with his set of Child's Gobstones – which squirted coloured water rather than anything nasty – and she dutifully played several games with him until he tired of it and nodded off on the couch as well.

ssssssssss

"Happy birthday Harry!" two bouncy boys each holding a package beamed up at the teen as he entered the Headmasters rooms.

"Thanks, guys," Harry grinned, "are those for me? Really?"

"Here, Harry!" Remus pushed the box into his hands, "open!"

Harry barely managed to sit down on the couch and started unwrapping the package. Inside was every bit of candy available at Honeydukes and he affectionately ruffled Remus's hair. When the Headmaster wasn't looking, he sneaked each boy a piece of candy, knowing full well Albus was perfectly aware of what he was doing and all too happy to allow it.

"Awwy," Severus said, proudly handing over his parcel.

Harry curiously opened it – and found a Hugo the Unicorn children's book. Severus looked at him with wide eyes and a tiny hand on Harry's knee.

"I – I…"

"I did try to dissuade him," Dumbledore muttered, "if you want it changed…"

"Changed? Hell no!" Harry yelped, "No! I never had a children's book of my own! This is perfect! Thank you, Severus, this is the very best book you could have found for me."

The boy radiated happiness. See, he was not stupid. Harry thought it was the best book, too!

Both boys settled next to Harry on the couch as he read his new book to them. Before he was finished, the Floo opened and the Weasley contingent entered – Molly, Ron, Ginny and the twins, accompanied by Neville and Hermione. Dumbledore hushed them with a finger to his lips as he pointed Molly to the couch.

"Awwwwww," the girls cooed.

When the story was finished, Harry looked up. "Look boys, visitors! Let's go say hello."

Remus scrambled up and ran to Hermione, who he remembered. Severus toddled over to Molly, who lifted him in her arms.

"Hi guys," Harry said happily, "you won't believe the treats Dobby has in store for us! Hey Neville! Happy birthday to you as well!"

Ron scowled a bit. "Does the git have to be here, Harry?" he asked quietly, "couldn't he have gone somewhere else?"

Harry's face went grim. "Severus and Remus belong here. They are here to celebrate my birthday with me. Bad enough you sent presents only for Remus earlier – you will NOT make Severus feel unwanted."

"Sheesh Harry, it's just Snape," one of the twins muttered. Unfortunately for him, his mother caught his remark, and he was rewarded by a swat to the back of his head.

"OW Mum!"

Severus's eyes widened and he looked at Molly in fear.

"No hit, no hit!" he pleaded.

"Shhh, darling. I am most certainly not going to hit YOU," she assured him, "but if it upsets you, I will not hit Fred anymore either."

The door opened, and Hagrid followed by Minerva entered.

"'Arry!" the half-giant boomed.

"Mr Potter, congratulations," his Head of House said, more reserved by no less warm.

The mount of presents he received was wonderful, but Harry made sure special places were reserved on the small table that held them all for the box of Honeydukes candy and the children's book.

The arrival of the cake and treats brought a welcome diversion to the room. The Weasley children entertained Remus, and mostly ignored Severus. Hermione, and surprisingly Neville, did their best to draw in the tiny Potions Master in some games. He let them, but would retreat to either Albus' or Molly's lap if Ron or the twins came close, as if he felt they did not really want him there. Nothing was said, but the dirty looks told the oversensitive baby enough.

"Time for a nap, Severus," Albus said, holding his hands out to the youngster just after lunch.

Minerva got up too to help him.

"Come, my wee lad," she burred, "a nap sounds good. Perhaps I should take one too. Do you think I'd fit in your bed?"

Severus smiled hesitatingly, not liking all the looks they were getting.

"Aunt Min is too big for Severus' bed," Remus laughed, "she can sleep in my bed!"

"Why thank you darling, I might do that," she winked at him.

"Sleep in the same room as Snape? Ewww…"

Remus suddenly became a little fury. "You don't say that about my brother! You don't! You don't!" he launched himself at Ron, pounding him with his small fists. Ron was too surprised to respond.

"Albus, Min, take Severus," Molly ordered, "Harry and I will deal with this."

Severus had hidden in the Headmaster's robes and did not calm until they were in the nursery, Silencing charm in place and rocking in the rocking chair.

"Shhh, baby, shhh," Minerva softly sang to him as Albus rocked, "it's alright."

Severus calmed and slowly fell asleep. The Headmaster sent a helpless look at his Deputy. "I don't want to let him go yet, Min."

"Then don't," the witch responded with a smile, "stay here a while and let him sleep on you. We'll see you later."

ssssssssssssss

In the living area Harry had lifted the furious Remus off of Ron.

"Remus John Lupin!" he scolded, but the child looked at him defiantly.

"They been nasty about Severus all the time! He was mean!" the little spitfire accused.

"Yes he was," Harry agreed, "but that does not mean you can hit him. Go stand in the corner for two minutes – I'll call you when time's up."

Remus gave Ron one more dirty look and moved himself to the nearest corner. Molly, meanwhile, was scolding her sons.

"I am ashamed of you! The way you behave towards a small child! Wait until your father hears of this!"

Harry folded his arms. "I would like you," he nodded to Ron, Ginny and the twins, "to leave now. I had hoped I had picked the sort of friends who can put aside their dislikes to behave normally to a little boy. You have no idea what your callousness has done to Severus."

He called Remus from the corner. "Say 'Sorry I hit you, Ron'," he instructed.

"Sorry I hit you," Remus mumbled almost inaudibly, but Harry let him off. Really, he should be rewarding the boy for standing up for his brother. He could not allow Remus to attack people he did not like, but honestly, he was tempted to do the same!

Hermione and Neville, however, had no such qualms. Pulling Remus besides them, they praised him in soft tones for standing up for his little brother. They did not voice approval for hitting Ron, but they did tell Remus he was a sweet big brother.

The other four left quickly under Molly's stern glare.

"I am sorry, Hary dear," the Weasley matriarch said helplessly, "we ruined your birthday…"

"You are still here," Harry pointed out, "Hermione, Neville and Hagrid are still here. We are still going to have fun. I guess I should have realized that it isn't that easy to give up on years of hate."

"Nonsense," Molly said briskly, "you did it. Neville did. Mine – well, I guess they just had it too easy. They've never been through any thing that forced them to have compassion and understanding for other people."

"You don't want them to go through what we've been through," Harry smiled sadly, "I would have given anything if I had been able to live with you. Now, let's get on with the party, shall we?"


	8. Chapter 8

A week later, Harry and Dumbledore stood watching the sleeping boys at night

A week later, Harry and Dumbledore stood watching the sleeping boys at night.

"They are even more adorable when they are asleep," the Headmaster pulled up Remus' blankets and tucked them around the child.

Harry smiled. "How long will they remain children?"

Albus stroked the brown hair and pressed a kiss on Remus' head before moving to do the same with Severus.

"Not long. One more week, then we have to change them back. There is a careful balance – Severus needs to stay a child long enough to recover, but if we leave him at this age too long, his brain will not be able to pick up properly again as an adult."

He stroked the child's cheek with the back of his fingers. "My poor Severus will be quite confused, I fear. Remus was aware of his change to childhood, but Severus will hardly know what happened to him. He is rather prone to lashing out when confused…"

"It may be best if we re-age them at the same time so they know they've been together, and then I take Remus with me to catch up so you can talk to Severus," Harry suggested.

"Yes," the Headmaster agreed absentmindedly, "I shall have to make quite a few apologies to him, as well…"

As they closed the nursery door, Albus smiled. "Did you make up with your friends, Harry?"

"Somewhat," Harry shrugged, "they sent letters of apology, but I am sure Mrs and Mr Weasley 'inspired' them. Still, who knows. Maybe they did learn their lesson…"

"At any rate Severus is not entirely blameless," Dumbledore frowned, "he does inspire antipathy in many of his students…"

"And who is to blame for that?" Harry asked sceptically, "He was barely out of his teens when he came to teach here. He had to play teacher to seventh years that had actually witnessed much of his humiliation at the hands of my father and his friends – how else was he going to maintain his authority? Besides, did anyone ever show him how to teach? Muggles spend years at schools specifically designed to learn how to teach, yet Hogwarts requires knowledge of the subject only, not actual teaching ability, and even subject knowledge is rather debatable, judging by our Defense teachers."

Albus sighed, and acknowledged the truth in Harry's words. "I fear I was too focussed on keeping him out of Voldemorts hands than to help him build a life of his own. By the time I realized what had happened, patterns were already set – I curb his excesses by lecturing him but I never did sit him down properly to help him change his teaching style. He must think I thoroughly disapprove of him…"

"Not after these weeks," Harry suddenly felt the desire to cheer up the older wizard, "he feels loved and treasured. I hope some of that will stay with him. I hope he and I will be able to get along better, as well."

"True. However, when you met, he was the adult. He should have known better."

"Probably, but if in time I meet up with a child of Dudley, one that looks just like him, I don't know if I could treat it decently. Knowing in your mind what is the right thing to do doesn't mean that sometimes, we don't just react. Severus probably knew very well that Remus isn't a danger when the moon is not full, but when he was locked up with him again, all that reason and logic took the backseat to fear and flashbacks. Being an adult doesn't mean all your pain just goes away. If only that were true – but I imagine that there won't be some magic miracle on my seventeenth birthday that takes away all my memories and hurt from the Dursleys."

He looked away, a bit embarrassed over his heated defence of Professor Snape – but these weeks had taught him much about himself as well, and he did understand quite a few things now.

ssssssssss

The next few days passed quietly. The boys played endlessly with their new toys and the weather stayed fair so that almost every morning, they could be found at the playground, being watched by a smiling Hagrid. Severus had finally lost his fear for the man and enjoyed nothing more than to climb onto the half-giant's lap, grab his beard and climb onto his shoulder.

"'Osey, 'osey," he would then yell, kicking his feet to try and get Hagrid to stand up and walk around, being his 'horse'. Remus usually joined in as well and on several occasions, Hagrid had spent ages walking the grounds with a child on each shoulder. The large man did not mind, being surprisingly gentle with the tiny Potions Master. He carefully showed the boys some creatures (only those approved of by the Headmaster and Harry) and taught them how to care for the rabbits. Although he did not try to feed them any of his baking again after Severus became sick eating his homemade crumpets and threw up over his shoes.

Finally, the day before they would be re-aged, Harry and Albus invited Minerva, Hagrid, Hermione, Molly and Neville to say goodbye to the children. Of course, they had not told the children what was about to happen – but the adults all agreed they needed some sort of closure to this short period with the boys. They organized a picnic on the grounds and the boys enjoyed the attention immensely. They got the three teens to play Pirates with them in the playground, which ended with Harry and Neville duelling with sticks over a captured Hermione, much to Remus' delight.

"I will get you, Captain Neville!" Harry bellowed, brandishing his stick, "you will not escape me!"

"Who were you going to bring for that, Captain Harry?" Neville retorted, "I am not some sluggish old Basilisk, you know!"

"That was below the belt! You will regret that, scoundrel!" Harry chased Neville around the playground, up the ship where Hermione sat with the two children near the mast, and around the bow.

"Stand still and fight like a man!" Neville couldn't ignore that taunt and turned around suddenly, surprising Harry who only just managed to fend off the blow.

"AHA! Slytherin trickery!" Harry laughed, "It will not work on me, Captain!"

"The wench is mine, and mine alone!" Neville called out in the heat of the fight making the adults, who were sitting outside the playground in the grass, look up in surprise. When they realized what was going on, they burst into laughter and started placing small bets on the outcome of the fight.

"She will never be yours, and neither will the little shipmates!" Harry jumped down onto the sand and charged Neville.

"I will take the wench AND the little shipmates!" Neville countered, "and I will make them swab the deck all day long, with no dessert!"

Severus and Remus gasped at the cruelty of this threat.

"For desserts!" Harry yelled out his battle cry. Soon splinters were flying across the playground as the mock fight began, Harry attacking aggressively and Neville putting up a surprisingly good fight. Finally, however, he pretended to yield.

"I give! I give! Yield! Uncle! Mercy! I swear I shall release the wench and provide her and the little shipmates with all the dessert they can eat! Just spare me, oh good Captain Harry," Neville pretended to grovel, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"Hurray!!" the tiny shipmates cheered, and Hermione lifted them down. The three moved to Harry's side, Hermione pretending to swoon into his arms as the boys each held a slip of his cloak.

"And what shall we do with Captain Neville?" Harry asked, "shall we kneehaul him? Get the cat o'nine tails? Make him walk the plank?"

"No!" Remus jumped up and down excitedly and pulled Harry down to whisper in his ear. Harry listened with a serious frown and nodded.

"The shipmate has a very good idea. Captain Neville, you are sentenced to – eating porridge for breakfast for a week! I have spoken! Aye!"

And with that stern sentence they rejoined the adults for some much-needed candy and cake.

sssssssssssss

The next afternoon, after Severus's nap – which he had taken in Dumbledore's arms in the rocking chair – they sat both boys on the couch.

"Kids – listen very carefully now," Harry started, "We need you to do something for us."

Remus looked intrigued and Severus beamed up at Harry.

"All little boys must sometimes take potions to stop them becoming sick," Dumbledore continued the explanation.

Remus nodded with a slight frown – he had had to swallow potions on several occasions already. Severus didn't quite understand but was still willing to cooperate.

"Both of you must drink this potion now," Harry motioned to two children's cups, "it does not taste nice, but it is good for you. Can you do that for Granpa and Harry?"

"Is it going to be really yucky?" Remus asked warily.

"Probably," Harry nodded, heading off Dumbledore's automatic 'of course not' respond.

"Okay," Remus said bravely, "I'll drink it."

"Me too," Severus nodded a little nervously; if his big brother could drink it, so could he.

"You are such brave, wonderful boys," Albus smiled at them warmly then leaned forward to kiss them gently on their heads. "Now drink up."

Harry handed each boy a cup and they both grimaced and drank. When the cups were drained, Albus and Harry were just in time to catch the cups before they hit the ground. The children sagged with closed eyes before light surrounded them again.

sssssssssssss

Remus slowly opened his eyes. He felt like he had gone through the Werewolf transformation while having a hangover, but the feeling passed quickly. Surveying the office, he thought back.

Then it hit him. The de-aging. It must be over now – he frowned. Pictures and feelings entered his mind, confusing and comforting at the same time. He would have to sort through the memories to make sense of the past weeks, but the important thing…

Severus was sitting next to him, also slowly opening his eyes and looking around so full of confusion Remus almost literally hurt for him. Movement caught his eye and he turned his head towards Harry.

"Did…did it go well, Harry?" he rasped.

Harry turned his head a little, and Remus followed suit. Severus was tense and his breathing erratic, but Albus had drawn him into a hug and directed the dark head to his shoulder as he began to soothe. Severus was very clearly upset, but did not show any signs of fighting the old man.

"Yeah, Remus," Harry smiled, his face showing a myriad of emotions ranging from sad to ecstatic, "yeah, it all went very well."

**A/N Only one more chapter to go. **


	9. Chapter 9

After Harry had filled him in a little on the past weeks and they had dinner together, Remus had turned in early

After Harry had filled him in a little on the past weeks and they had dinner together, Remus had turned in early. The change from child to man was tiring, as well as the emotions and memories racing through his mind in no specific order at all.

He quickly discovered that sleep had been a very good idea – he spent the night dreaming and sorting out the confusing mess inside his head. He slept late and lazily stretched in the sunlight. His room overlooked the grounds and he could just make out the playground. He smiled fondly. Dressed, and having breakfast delivered to his rooms, he sat down to eat his favourite toast and jam. A cup of tea, properly sugared and with a generous splash of cream accompanied it.

A soft knock on his door shook him from his content musings. He opened the door to a pale and somehow smaller looking Snape.

"Severus," he greeted, astonished.

The Potions Master did not quite meet his eyes. "May…May I come in?"

"Of course. I was just having breakfast, would you like some?" Remus queried.

Snape shook his head to breakfast, but he did accept a cup of tea. He sat cradling it in his hands and looking into the hot liquid as if he was trying to read the tealeaves without first drinking the tea.

"How are you doing, Severus?" Remus asked, "I know I was quite confused last night, though sleeping helped."

The other man nodded. "The memories organized themselves overnight," he admitted, "but it does not make the entire series of events any less confusing."

"Harry took me from the room quite quickly," Remus sipped his own tea, never taking his eyes off the man he would now forever consider his younger brother, "did you and Albus talk?"

"A little," Severus kept his gaze on his tea.

"What happened?"

Severus bit his lip. "He held me at first – I did not quite understand why I felt comfortable with that, considering…I remembered hating him and being angry with him. He told me he was sorry, that everything was alright, and it took a while before I registered what he was saying."

"He was sorry for locking us up together, and for many more things," Remus softly commented.

"He explained that," Severus recalled.

"_I am sorry, Severus," Albus whispered in the dark hair, "I will not fail you again, I promise."_

_Severus lifted his head. "What happened? Why am I here? Did I have an accident?"_

"_No…" the Headmaster looked at him sorrowfully, "I am afraid this is all my fault, child. I thought…I wanted to help you, Remus and Harry to get along. I lured you into an abandoned room and locked the three of you in."_

"_WHAT?" Severus stared at him, wide-eyed._

"_You panicked," Albus admitted painfully, "and you retreated, too far in your mind for me to reach – or for you to be able to return on your own."_

_Severus was dazed. "But…the only way to counter…" _

_He gasped. "No! Not de-aging?!"_

"_It was the only solution," Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose, "and Remus, after thoroughly chewing me out, offered to join you – give you a chance to get to know him without fear."_

"_How…how old was I?"_

"_Two," Dumbledore said softly, "we celebrated your second birthday a few weeks ago. Remus was four and a half."_

_Silence reigned for a little while after that. _

"_And Potter?"_

_Albus nodded. "Harry helped me look after you two."_

_Severus paled, and Dumbledore could barely catch his fist as Severus threw a half-hearted but sincere punch at him._

"You hit him?" Remus said in awe.

"Tried to," Severus swallowed, "for a moment I was afraid that he would…but he just held my wrists and allowed me to yell at him. I remember him yelling at us…something to do with the playground? No, the playground was a good place…"

"We only had good places," Remus smiled happily, "but yes – one morning we snuck out and went to the playground. We were caught, of course."

"What…what did they do?" Severus asked a bit frightened.

"Nothing bad, Severus," Remus assured him, "they took us back up to the tower where we were given a time-out and we were banned from the playground for a few days – until your birthday party."

"Oh."

The dark man seemed to digest that information for a bit. "That…I guess that is not so bad."

"No," Remus confirmed, "it wasn't bad at all. We were happy and loved, Severus."

"Potter…"

"Harry is not his father, Severus," Remus said softly, "he took good care of us. He is not a spoiled little prince. If anything, he was mistreated by his relatives. As much as I loved James, he would have used the situation to taunt you, I know. Harry is entirely different. He doesn't want to continue hating you, and I never hated you in the first place. I just wished that you wouldn't be afraid of me."

"Is that why you volunteered to be de-aged as well?"

Remus nodded. "To get to know you as a brother. I hoped that without the wolf, we would be able to get along better. And I thought…that perhaps it would be comforting for you to know that you weren't the only one running around as a small child this summer."

A smile so small that Remus almost thought he had imagined it passed the still pale face. "It was strange. I woke up this morning and the only one I could imagine going to was you," Severus admitted, "something lingered. I am still – unsure of Gra…the Headmaster. My first thought was…was to talk to my big brother," he stuttered before dropping his teacup and rushing for the door.

"Severus, come back here," Remus said firmly, "there is no need to run."

The insecure look he got shocked him, and he got up. "Severus, I know. It lingers with me, too. You will always be my brother, too," he said matter-of-factly, "I am glad that you think of me that way now. I have to know, however…"

He took a deep breath. "Are you still afraid of me?"

Snape rubbed his face. "Not…not really afraid of _you_," he eventually clarified, "but the Shack…that night…"

"Dealing with the aftermath of facing a werewolf is something you need help with," Remus commented, "believe me, I know. If you wish, I will make an appointment with the Healer that helped me when I was bitten."

"Thank you," his brother said, this time with a small but real smile. "Could you tell me everything you remember about the past weeks? My memories are a bit fuzzy still – I was only two, after all."

"Certainly," Remus poured him a new cup of tea, "I saw you for the first time the morning after we were de-aged. You were asleep in your cot…"

sssssssss

Harry walked into the Hall for dinner. He had spent the day in Gryffindor tower, not wanting to risk running into his Potions Master. The Headmaster was already seated and they ate in silence for a while. When they looked up at the door opening, both jaws dropped.

Remus and Severus came in, side by side, laughing about something.

"…you really attacked Ron Weasley?" they heard Severus ask.

"Well, he was being mean to you. Besides…" Remus's voice lowered.

Harry recovered first. "I guess we know where they went, now," he muttered.

The Headmaster nodded as the two approached the table.

"Headmaster," Severus nodded, "Mr Potter."

"Se- Professor Snape," Harry responded nervously.

"I am not about to tear you apart," the Potions Master informed him, "I need a little more time, but I was – pleasantly surprised by your behaviour."

He sat down next to Remus and smiled briefly at Hagrid and Minerva, who had joined the staff table just before they arrived.

"Severus…" Dumbledore began.

"You have to give me time," the Potions Master cut him off, "I have to think on things. I have spying duties that I don't know how to return to, brewing for the infirmary to do and a lot of feelings to sort out, Granpa. I can't just…"

Albus felt himself warm at Severus's unconscious use of his honourary grandfather title. Perhaps all was not lost.

"You are not returning to spying, Severus," he said softly, though the only people present were Order members – and Harry.

"It is not safe now. The infirmary is stocked up fine with potions we bought. Thanks to your brewing over the years the budget for potions had hardly been touched. I hope you and I can sit down for a few long talks soon."

Remus frowned when he saw his brother bite his lip and pick at his food. "Severus," he began, "Granpa is not talking about scolding you."

Harry, Hagrid and Minerva decided this was a good time to make themselves scarce.

Severus stabbed a piece of chicken. "He is going to complain about me," he muttered, "how it is all my own fault."

Albus got up from his chair and moved to sit next to his grandsons.

"Severus, child, I am not going to chide you over something I did wrong," he took the tense hands in his own, "I am going to help you, like I should have long ago."

Slowly dark eyes met his own. "You were nice to me when I was little. I remember being held, feeling safe," Severus said, his voice high with wonder, "I do not understand…"

"It is not going to be like before, Severus," Albus assured him quietly, "I got quite a few telling-offs and did a lot of thinking these weeks. I am heartily sorry for how I neglected and wronged you, and I will make it up to you. If you will permit me."

They could see the emotions battling on the normally stoic face – the longing and trust of the two year old with the wary guarded expression of the adult. Finally the longing won out and Snape nodded, though still with a healthy amount of mistrust. That would have to fade with time, Dumbledore realized, and it was his job to prove to Severus that he was trustworthy.

He released one of Severus's hands and took one of Remus. "You are still my boys," he said with conviction, "you always will be. You will always have a home with me. Why, I left the nursery intact for now – I do realize you do not fit your cot anymore, Severus, but I thought you might enjoy keeping your dragon," he teased lightly, sensing Severus's need for a little emotional space.

Two embarrassed grins were his reward, and he knew that while it would take time, in the end it would be all right.

ssssssssss

Severus stood leaning against the playground fence, studying the ship.

"You know, we played Pirates there a lot," he heard a voice behind him.

Remus walked up, his hands in his pockets.

"Harry I remember, and a duel of sorts," Severus frowned, "but the rest is hazy."

"Ah – that was the day before we were re-aged, Harry told me. Hermione and Neville came over, and the three of them played with us. Hermione and the two of us were captured, and Harry fought Neville over us with sticks. Neville threatened to take away our desserts, and when he was defeated, his punishment was to eat porridge for a week. Apparently I did not like porridge as a child," Remus grinned wryly.

"Neville?" Severus shook his head. "I talked to Harry. We agreed on a truce and the possibility of some sort of friendship over time."

He cast a sideways glance at Remus. "Things have changed, haven't they?"

Remus affectionately patted him on his back. "They sure have, little brother. They sure have."


End file.
